Coroner Season 1 Episode 7 Review: The Suburbs
Leora W at .The first of a two-episode arc, Coroner Season 1 Episode 7 effectively prepares us for the season finale.
I don't think any of us had a positive opinion of Dr. Peterson after Jenny fired him on Coroner Season 1 Episode 1. We didn't see him after that, but his sloppy work has left a trail of mistakes that Jenny has been cleaning up ever since.
He was arrogant. He was sexist. He lets his biases affect his work. It makes sense for things to come full circle as the season ends, with the return of this man whose carelessness has caused so much damage.
Dr. Peterson: I was right about her. Camilla said that she's been head of Health and Safety for three years. Spencer said that they'd been married for three years. That is not a coincidence.
Jenny: Yeah, well, maybe you just have a problem with women being in power,
D. Peterson: Well, I'm here, aren't I? Helping you when no one else would go near you?
Jenny: Okay, what happened to you, to make you like this?
Dr, Peterson: You fired me, and you destroyed my career.
Jenny: No, actually, you destroyed your career. I just noticed.
He said and did a few things this episode to remind us why we didn't like him. But he was humanized a bit too.
Jenny wanted to help him get his life back. She could see that he had talent and that he was a good pathologist when he tried. But there was something holding him back from trying, and he wouldn't own up to it.
Jenny: I want you to tell me what happened, Ian.
Dr. Peterson: I don't follow.
Jenny: I studied all of your reports, and at the beginning of your career, you were, you were thorough and you were sharp, and then- and then something changed.
Dr. Peterson: Nothing changed.
Jenny: Something changed around ten years ago. You started acting erratic, you were sloppy, you didn't dig deep into anything.
Dr. Peterson: I've lost my appetite suddenly.
Jenny: What was it? Was it, I mean, was it the divorce? Were you sick? I mean, were you drinking? Like, just say something mitigating and I will give you a job recommendation right here, right now, because you are a good pathologist.
Dr. Peterson: I am a, I am a great pathologist.
Now he's ding-dong dead. I have a hunch that we'll learn his deep dark secret before the season ends. Jenny speaks for the dead, and if that last scene was any indication, she intends to speak for him.
Parts of the episode were a bit predictable, but not in a bad way. The audience went along the mystery trail with Jenny and her frenemy.
It became clear a second or two before they said it that this could have been murder. And as soon as they started talking about something ingested, it became clear that it was the nicotine gum. But it was still fun to watch them work it out.
Thankfully, Jenny did not become radioactive. I'm relieved the two-part nature of this episode doesn't revolve around the radiation plot. Jenny stuck in isolation with Dr. Peterson was fun for an episode, but would have gotten boring quick.
Plus, it's doubtful anyone wants to think about someone stuck in quarantine right now. And for Jenny to be trapped, someone with anxiety who takes pills that she can't get.
That's just wrong. She should not be cut off like that. It was really lucky she was able to make it through.
Dr. Peterson: They still don't know how, when or why Glen King got exposed to the radiation.
Jenny: Well, what's taking so long?
Dr. Peterson: The CNSC and CSIS are battling for jurisdiction. Everybody's strangling in red tape. It's like an acronym orgy. You're stuck here until somebody wins.
Jenny: Yeah, well you don't exactly win an orgy now, do you?
There was a little bureaucratic horse poo, pardon the expression. They have people on lockdown, terrified and in possible real danger, and the two big government companies need to fight it out to see who gets to be the big boss? So stupid.
But Jenny and Dr. Peterson got around them in the end. I'm kind of surprised she wasn't better monitored. Like, how did he get in her cut-off room?
Jenny: You know what? I'm just gonna have to figure this out myself.
Dr. Peterson: While you're locked in this room.
Jenny: Yeah, well, can't be harder than passing med school with a seven-year-old at home.
Dr. Peterson: Then I'd like to help. Let's start over. Hi, I'm Ian, and I stole Glen King's personal effects.
Elsewhere, McAvoy was back on Jones's case, and he was not having the best luck. I'm loving the Greer character. She's so interesting. It kind of adds a wild element. She isn't a cop or a coroner. Still, she's fighting for justice, and we learned a little bit of why.
Honestly, it might have been more interesting if it wasn't personal because that plotline has been done to death. Still, it makes sense, and it doesn't make her unlikable.
It's a little unclear what her plan was, though. On the one hand, she seemed to go to the open house with the intention of spying on Jones. On the other, she couldn't get within five feet of him without getting skittish and obvious.
Jones: I so despise a staged home.
Greer: Isn't it so that you can imagine yourself living here? Why they stage it?
Jones: Fake art and furniture that'snever been lived in? No, no, I wanna ... see I wanna see every nook and cranny. I wanna see ... every loose floorboard. I wanna learn its secrets. you know, where it's vulnerable.
Greer: People want their houses to be solid.
Jones: Well, I think of flaws as character, uh, vulnerabilities as an oppurtunity.
Greer: Why is that? are you a contractor of or something?
Jones: No, no, no, no, no. I'm still trying to figure out what I am. I've been away for a long time.
Greer: Have you seen the ravine out back? It's a real selling point.
Jones: Hm, yeah, yeah, no it's, my god it's wonderful. If you wanna get murdered in your own home. I'm sorry. That's a terrible joke from someone you just met. I'm Gerald Henry Jones. Do we know each other?
It makes total sense to be scared of a serial killer. But if you're going to follow someone, maybe try and get close to get proof or even answers, you've gotta have a better poker face.
We still don't know McAvoy's personal stake in this case. It's possible he doesn't have one, that it was just a case he worked, and this is him being the good cop, trying to play the hero. I'd respect that, but there might be more. It's early to count our backstory-related chickens.
My name is Glen King, and if you're seeing this, it's already too late. It's too ... too late.
Glen
Elsewhere, Ross and Liam had a stealth-mission all their own. It was clearly meant to unite them after said events from the previous Thanksgiving.
What's happening with Jenny's dad is tragic but also a very real thing that happens all the time. Ross is such a good kid, and he's trying so hard. It's sad how he was basically the only frequent visitor at the home.
Jenny's dad offered a little information about the black dog, but it's clear his memory can't be trusted. At times, this family just seems cursed.
It's nice to see Ross and Liam bonding again. Maybe they can get past Thanksgiving, and Liam can become a real father figure for Ross. He could use it.
Sidenote, Liam filling in as the magician was hilarious. He actually didn't do too badly. He does seem to be going to a lot of effort for this family. I guess we're just glossing over the other girlfriend who showed up at Thanksgiving?
Sabina: I'm not used to being ghosted. And, when I didn't hear back from you after Thanksgiving -
Alison: Yeah, about that -
Sabina: No, you don't owe me anything. I just, I wanted to make sure you're okay. That I didn't overstep.
Alison: Sabina, I'm gonna tell you something that will probably make me seem unhinged, but I think you deserve to know, so I'm just gonna say it. Sometimes I feel like there is a finite amount of happiness I can have in my life.
Sabina: You don't seem like a pessimist.
Alison: No, I think I'm more of a realist, especially since it took me eight years, and most of my savings, to get pregnant with this baby, which has made me happier than I've ever been. And then that night that we ...
Sabina: Thanksgiving?
Alison: Yes, that night. It made me even happier. Which made me really scared. Does that sound dumb? That's dumb, right?
Sabina: The way you feel is the way you feel. I'm just glad you're okay.
Alison: Come home with me.
Sabina: What, like right now?
Alison: No, we're still in lockdown, but um, after. I made a mistake, I want a do-over.
Sabina: You gonna call me in the morning?
Alison: No, because you'll still be there. I mean, if you wanna be.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I was right about Alison and Sabina hooking up. They are so cute. Alison is just the sweetest cinnamon bun, and she deserves all the happiness she apparently doesn't think she can have.
As for Sabina, we don't know her very well, but she seems pretty cool. I ship it.
Next week, everything should come together. We'll learn the deep dark secret of Dr. Peterson and maybe the deal with Katie and Arski. Then, once all the demons are put to bed, Jenny, Liam, and Ross can be one big happy family. Wishful thinking.
So what do you think, Fanatics? What happened to Dr. Peterson ten years ago? Are we going to get all of our black-dog-related answers? Will Ross forgive his mom and come home now that he and Liam have made peace?
Let us know in the comments, and remember, you can watch Coroner online right here via TV Fanatic.
Coroner airs Wednesdays 9/8c on The CW.
Leora W was a staff writer for TV Fanatic..
